Support clip attachment for miniature electric lamps



July 12, 1938.

E. CLEMENCE 2,123,231 SUPPORT CLIP ATTACHMENT FOR MINIATURE ELECTRICLAMPS Filed March 5, 1937 INVENTOR EZZzbizl Cie mence,

Patented July 12, 1938 SMENT OFFICE SUPPORT: CLIP ATTACHMENTPOR MINIA-TUBE ELECTRIC LAMPS Elliott I. Clemence, Millburn,- N. J. ApplicationMarch 5,- 1937, SerialNo. 129,152

3 Claims.

,Thepresent invention relates to an improvement in'electric lamp socketsandclips therefor, and is, more especially, related to sockets for usewithminiatureelectric lamps, such as are used in Christmas tree lightingoutfits and the like.

I-Ieretofore, these miniature sockets, which are comparatively simpleand low in cost, have been so made :'as to render them hazardous intheir normal use, the tendencybeing that parts of the 'iassembly, suchas the wiring on the sockets or husksissometimes pulled away from theirassembled connection tothe terminals of the socket, thus either breakingthe series circuit into which many lamps are connected, causing all ofthem to go out, and in some instances adding thedanger of shortcircuiting the lamp line and causing fire to ensue.

The short circuiting has been mainly due to thefact' that theconductingwires of the socket normally lie very close together atthe wireentrantrposition .OfilhESOCkBll, and when a wire, or wires, wereaccidently pulled out the bare ends of" the wires would touch and ashort circuit ensues.

A further disadvantage, is that sometimes the insulation and braidingabout the wires is loosened, in handling, at or near the wire entrantportion of the socket, and the insulation and braiding is slipped on theconductor wires, baring the same, thus exposing the bare wires to thehazard of contacting and thusalso cause a short circuit.

The present improvement is developed to prevent the above notedfailures, the accomplishment of these factors of safety being done withreasonable cost, and eliminating the hazards pointed out.

There are, in addition, other features of improvement in the clipstructure, whereby the miniature lighting circuit is attached to thebranches of the trees upon which they are mounted to prevent accidentalslippage from the engaged branch, and to increase the grip of the clipto its engaged operative position.

All of the foregoing improved features are embraced in the clip itself,and theclip, when engaged to the lamp husk in assembling the structure,cooperates to combine all of the socket improving features and functionsin substantially a single assembly, and to anchor the wires to anextension of the clip, to prevent their withdrawal from the socket.

The foregoing and other features of advantage will be apprehended as theherein descrip- 55 tion proceeds, and it will be obvious thatmodifications may be made in the structures shown, without departingfrom the spirit hereof or the scope of the appended claims.

In the drawin Fig. 1 is a front, enlarged view in:elevation of theimproved clip and socket;

Fig. 2 is a side view thereof in elevation;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional View, taken 'on the line 33, Fig. 1looking in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the clip alone; and

Fig. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view of the husk and cliptaken at about the line 55, looking in the direction of the arrows.

The clip, generally denoted by 2, Fig. 4, pref erably stamped out offlatsemi-spring steel, inone piece, comprises a central stem portion havingan upper head T, from the center and extremities ofwhich is extendedthree trident-like extensions i -4 and 5. Central extension 5 isprovided along its upper, opposed edges with downwardly extended sharptriangular teeth 6. The outer extensions 4-4 are elongated and curveddownwardly at C, so as to form outwardly flared, convoluted, anddownwardly directed tree branch clamping extensions 33. The extensions33 are flared away from central extension 5, and are flared away fromone another. It will be noted that one of the central convolutions d ofeach extension 33 are in opposite registration with each other and thesein turn are located centrally of two small spurs a-b, which are stampedupwardly out the central stem 5, Figs. 1 and 4;, and these all co-act toclasp a branch of the tree between them, the sharpened ends of the spursab tending to grip the tree branch upon which the clip is engaged andthereby prevent the clip from turning or rotating on the branch, or frombecoming loosened from said branch, and thus, if the clip is properlyset upon a branch to hold the husk l properly upright, the whole fixturewill remain upright against accidental displacement.

The central stem 1 of the clip is extended downwardly centrally of thespring branch clamping extensions 3-3 and extends centrally, inalinement with central extension 5, Figs. 1 and 4, and near its lowerend, is angularly inbent at an angle to form a step 8, and is then bentparallel to stem 1 to form an inbent extension 9, and the end of 9 isbent outwardly at an angle to form step [0. The bending of the lower endof stem 1 into portions 8, 9 and I0 is so located that step 8, clearsthe bottom of the husk, leaving a suitable space S therebetween, asfully shown in Fig. 2. g

The inbent portion 9 is so located as to be parallel to the conductorwires IW, IW, as in Fig. 2 and to be in parallel contact with one sideof the paired wires.

The husk, or socket piece I, usually moulded of a suitable dielectricplastic, has two spaced apart outstanding lugs 13-13 moulded upon itsexterior, near the upper edge thereof, and the inner faces thereof aretapered inwardly, as shown in Fig. 5, thus to form a gib-way 14, intowhich the serrated, toothed central stem is firmly seated, by pushingupwardly until the cross piece T, Fig. l, strikes the bottom ends oflugs I3-I3. The downward inclination of the serrated teeth 6, dig intothe angular sides of the gib-way l4, and prevent easy withdrawal of theholding stem 5.

As shown in Fig. 5 the two outer extensions 4-4 snugly span and engagethe outer edges 01 lugs l3-I3, and thus the clip is firmly held indesired assembled position to the husk.

It will be noted that the husk is substantially circular in crosssection, as in Fig. 5, and that the cross piece T and the extensions 4-4and 5, where they engage against the surface of the husk are curved topartake of the cylindrical or curved husk surface. This curving of theseelements causes the out-flare in part of the convoluted branch engagingportions 3-3 on extensions 44.

After the assembly of the husk, the clip and the wiring to the socket,as above described, a conductor wire holding ferrule, made from a fiatstrip of semi-spring metal is tightly clamped around the two wires IW,Figs. 1, 2 and 3, to form an embracing ferrule clamp ll, Fig. 3, wherebyto compressively clamp the wires and the seat 9 of extension I in afirm, compressive embrace, the ends of the clamped ferrule resting uponthe face of seat 9 Fig. 3. To further insure against the accidentalwithdrawing of the wires from their assembled operative position in thesocket, the ferrule, Fig. 3, is indented as at l2, to increase theferrule grip about the wires. As the wiring II is encased in aninsulated and braided covering W, and this structure is firmly adheredto the extension I, by the ferrule II, it is obvious that more thanordinary force is required to pull the wires from the socket.

The structure of the clip and its embedding in the lugs l3l3 not onlytakes all of the undesired pull on the Wires IW, but the extension 1 issomewhat resilient and acts, with the ferrule, to become a resilientarmor for said wires and serves to prevent breaking of the wires at theentrant socket portion from too frequent bending thereat.

The ferrule H, Fig. 3, by its indent 12, also serves to space the wiresapart as shown at e, thus to fix the insulation spacing at the requiredmaximum at this point.

Having thus described the invention what is claimed is:

1. An electric lamp socket, comprising a husk of insulating materialhaving wiring connected thereto, a pair of integral, spaced apart lugson one side of said husk, a tree limb embracing clip having elongate,spaced apart and backwardly curved clip members, with a central,serrated toothed stem therebetween, said clip being seated between saidlugs with the toothed stem in frictional engagement with the insideedges of said lugs, said clip having an extension coaxial with saidtoothed stem, the outer end of said extension being bent at an angletowards the axis of said husk, a ferrule seat located at the outerextremity of said extension and in parallel contact with said wiringexternally of said husk and a wire clamping ferrule clamped about saidwiring and said ferrule seat.

2. An electric lamp socket as described in claim 1, in which the wireclamping ferrule is indented on one side to compressively embrace andpartially surround said wiring and to hold said wiring spaced apart.

An electric lamp socket as set forth in claim 1, in which the wireclamping ferrule is spaced a distance away from the wire entrant portionof the husk and the coaxial extension upon which the ferrule is mountedis resilient.

ELLIOTT I. CLEMENCE.

